Great Ming Code

The Great Ming Code was the legal code of the Ming dynasty, focused primarily on criminal law. It was created at the direction of the dynasty’s founder, the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, in the late 14th century, as part of broader social and political reforms. From 1397 to the fall of Ming in 1644, the Great Ming Code served as the principal governing law of China. Under the Qing dynasty it was replaced by the Great Qing Legal Code, which borrowed heavily from it. Portions of the Great Ming Code were adopted into the legal systems of Joseon dynasty Korea, Edo period Japan, and Lê dynasty Vietnam.

The Great Ming Code was the legal code of the Ming dynasty, focused primarily on criminal law. It was created at the direction of the dynasty’s founder, the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, in the late 14th century, as part of broader social and political reforms. From 1397 to the fall of Ming in 1644, the Great Ming Code served as the principal governing law of China. Under the Qing dynasty it was replaced by the Great Qing Legal Code, which borrowed heavily from it. Portions of the Great Ming Code were adopted into the legal systems of Joseon dynasty Korea, Edo period Japan, and Lê dynasty Vietnam. ==Legacy== After the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, the Qing Dynasty replaced the Great Ming Code with the Great Qing Legal Code. The Great Ming Code had been translated into Manchu by Wu Dahai in the early 17th century, and in the early years of Qing the Ming Code was kept largely in effect. In the Joseon dynasty of Korea, the criminal provisions of the Great Ming Code were adapted for Korea by Taejo of Joseon. The version used was The Great Ming Code Directly Explicated, which contained the 1389 version of the Great Ming Code with added commentaries. A surviving exemplar is preserved as a state-designated heritage item in the National Palace Museum of Korea. Subsequent domestic enactments such as the Kyŏngguk taejŏn modified and expanded on certain provisions, but the Great Ming Code remained the primary penal law of Korea throughout the Joseon dynasty. In Japan during the Edo period, research was carried out on the Great Ming Code in order to reform the legal system of the preceding Sengoku period, which had been influenced by the Bakuhan feudal system. Representative works in this field include Takase Tadaatsu's Interpretation and Translation of the Great Ming Code and Substatutes and Ogyu Hokkei's Ming Code: Kyōho Edition. In Vietnam under the Lê dynasty, the Lê Code's 722 articles included 17 articles influenced by the Great Ming Code, although a larger number were influenced by the Tang Code.

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